NCAA Report: Golden Eagle tennis team tops OVC in 2014 APR

May 15, 2014

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech tennis team achieved
the highest mark among all men's tennis programs in the Ohio Valley
Conference in the latest Academic Progress Report, released
Wednesday by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The Golden Eagles also ranked second among all public universities
in the state.

For the fifth consecutive year, all 14 Tennessee Tech athletic
teams comfortably exceeded the national standard for the NCAA
multi-year Athletic Progress Rate (APR), with four Tech teams
topping the Ohio Valley Conference and two topping all public
universities in the state.

Six of Tech’s 14 teams had perfect one-year rates of
1,000, up one from last year, and 11 Tech teams ranked among the
top half of schools in the OVC. Compared to all programs
nationwide, 11 Golden Eagle teams achieved multi-year rates higher
than the national average.

Every Division I sports team calculates its APR each academic
year, based on the eligibility, graduation and retention of each
scholarship student-athlete. Teams scoring below certain thresholds
can face consequences, such as practice restrictions and
restrictions on postseason competition. The current multi-year
rates are based on the past four years’ performances. The
most recent APRs are based on the scores from the 2009-10, 2010-11,
2011-12 and 2012-13 academic years.

“We take a great deal of pride in the academic success of
all our teams, and these APR rates verify, once again, that we are
successfully fulfilling our mission toward our student-athletes,"
said Mark Wilson, Director of Athletics. “Success in our APR
numbers speaks to the diligence of our student-athletes, our
coaches and our academic support system and personnel. Our
student-athletes are coming in better prepared when they enter
Tennessee Tech, and they are staying on track to earn their
degrees.”

The six Golden Eagle teams which achieved perfect scores for the
most recent year in the report (2012-13) are men’s cross
country, golf and tennis, women’s golf, softball and
volleyball.

In the multi-year rates, the Tech women’s golf team tied for
the highest APR in the OVC, the state and the nation with a mark of
1,000.

The Golden Eagle tennis team (990) ranked first in the league, and
was joined atop the OVC by the Golden Eagle soccer (997) and
football (965) teams. The Tech softball (997) and men's golf (992)
teams each ranked second in the OVC. Other teams among the top half
in the league were baseball, men's and women's basketball, women's
indoor track and volleyball.

Compared with other in-state public universities, Tech's women's
golf and soccer teams had the highest multi-year APR while the
softball, football and men's tennis teams ranked second.

“These kinds of APR numbers point out that our
student-athletes and our staff continue to take seriously our goal
of stressing the importance of academic success,” Wilson
said.